Manhattan’s 57th Street is quickly becoming the city’s newest Gold Coast, with half a dozen exclusive residential skyscrapers planned along its stretch. Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is designing the latest tower along the coveted corridor. The firm beat out a number of other architects, including Herzog & de Meuron and SHoP Architects.

Extell Development announced late last year that the project, which is located at 215 West 57th Street, would reach a height of 1,550 feet, 100 feet taller than the Empire State Building, making it the second-tallest building in New York City behind SOM’s One World Trade Center. (If you removed One World’s spire, Extell’s tower would stand 200 feet higher, making it the city’s tallest.) Adrian Smith designed the world’s current tallest tower, the 2,722-foot-tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai, while working at SOM. Extell is also developing another West 57th tower, this one designed by Christian De Portzamparc, which before the announcement of 215 was to be the city’s tallest residential tower at 1,004 feet.

Containing 88 stories, 215 West 57th Street consists of a tower perched atop a podium housing a Nordstrom Department Store. A hotel and luxury apartments
fill the rest of the building. A large cantilever extends over an adjacent landmarked
building approximately 300 feet above the street. Plans for the tower were presented to Community Board 5 in early October but must gain several approvals before moving forward.